Starring Aaron Eckhart, Katie Holmes, Adam Brody, Robert Duvall, Rob Lowe, William H. Macy, David Koechner, Maria Bello, Sam Elliott
Written By: Jason Reitman
Directed By: Jason Reitman
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Buy on Amazon.com link

Thank you For Smoking was a hit in the film festival circuit so I was anxious to see this film. I didn’t really know what this movie was about but knew Aaron Eckhart was good as the asshole but likable lobbyist. If you are smoker, non-smoker, someone who hates the smoking industry, this is a movie to watch.

The film is about Nick Naylor, a “spin doctor” for Big Tobacco (the cigarette industry). Nick’s job is to twist stories around, spin the facts and make everyone downright hate him. But Nick’s job is to make people like him and the cigarette industry. But of course he doesn’t win over everybody. Nick appears on talk shows and has the crowd booing him and cheering him on. He’s a downright bastard but you can’t help but like the guy. While lobbying for the cigarette industry, his son is taking a keen interest in what his Father does. Nick tries to show him a little bit what he does, and pretty much says he gets paid to talk. Though he sugar coats it so he doesn’t show his son that he has no morals. One day, he just pissed off too many people and ends up getting kidnapped. The kidnappers give him a taste of his own medicine and he ends up in a hospital. Also, while this is all happening, Nick ends up meeting a sexy news reporter who he thought he could trust, but ends up getting betrayed by her. She exposes his secrets about his job, and the business and his reputation is on the line.

I didn’t know what to expect from this but I enjoyed this flick. It was funny and had a good premise. Aaron Eckhart is great in the movie and its one of his best roles to date. He makes this jerk of a character very likable and you almost can’t help yourself rooting for him. Yeah, he works for evil assholes and is one himself as well, but you generally feel like you want him to win in the end. He’s just a guy like anyone else, doing a job. Even though that job is downright wrong and evil. I found this movie funny and highly satirical, even though i’m a non-smoker and STRONGLY against smoking. But I don’t really feel like getting into what I think about smoking, the cigarette companies and everything associated with it here. What I found funny in the movie is the lunch meetings Nick had with his supposed friends had. One worked for the alcohol industry, and the other worked in the gun industry. Of course David Koechner plays the same redneck cowboy in every movie, but it works for him. Why change something when it’s always funny! Besides Aaron Eckhart’s acting, they are a lot of good performances given by Rob Lowe, Robert Duvall, William H. Macy, and Maria Bello. There are a lot of people in this movie which is a good sign that this movie has a great plot and script!

As Far as the extras are concerned, there is director & cast commentary but since I haven’t seen this movie before, I wanted to watch this commentary-free. The deleted scenes were pretty good and not filler or weak. There was some good character development in there, and more scenes with characters you don’t see as much in the film. One of my favorites was Nick and his boss watching an anti-smoking ad made by the company and how they use subliminal messaging in the text. After that is a great piece from the Charlie Rose Show where you have the author, Aaron Eckhart, director Jason Reitman and others discussing the movie and the subject matter. It’s a great extra to have since Charlie Rose gives some of the best interviews and round tables discussion out there! Besides that, there’s small featurettes about the making of the movie, a featurette about America living in the world of Spin, and more!

If you are looking for a satirical comedy that makes you think and laugh at the same time, than Thank You For Smoking is the movie to see! It’s got great acting, funny dialogue, an interesting story and will make you want to watch it again. Go see this!

Features:
– Director and Cast Commentary
– Deleted Scenes
– The Charlie Rose Show Interview with Jason Reitman, Aaron Eckhart, Christopher Buckley and David O. Sacks
– Making-Of Featurette
– American: Living In Spin Featurette
– And More!

Audio:
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 CC
SPANISH: Dolby Digital Surround

Video:
Widescreen 2.40:1 Color (Anamorphic)

Subtitles:
English, Spanish, French

Favorite Scenes: The talk show was funny, the scenes with David Koechner were great as well
Rating: NR
Running Time: 91 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: